12/26/2021 - AJPHopson Likes this wine:

Despite good cellaring I think this was just on the turn. I’m planning on drinking my remaining bottles in the next year.

1/18/2021 - AJPHopson wrote:

I have had three bottles of this wine since having a case delivered in September last year and have come to the grand conclusion that it's just not ready yet. It's still closed down. Whilst not unpleasant by any means, it has a short amount of cassis, a fairly decent amount of acidity and a smooth tannin profile. There was no discernible secondary flavour development.

I will try again in a few years time. I would advise that if you've had your bottles professionally stored, not to open one yet. My score is probably closer to where it is now with a bit of benefit of the doubt about development.

11/21/2020 - AJPHopson Likes this wine:

Really good.... on the second night. The first night it was a bit discombobulated. The acidity was too prominent and the flavour too short. The second night it came together, with a nice smooth texture. This was a trial, I’ll be buying more of this, but I’d give it another year before opening a bottle.

11/8/2020 - AJPHopson wrote:

Plums, chocolate - on opening I thought I smelt a bit of mint but it’s not there now. There’s a sour cherry note as well. It’s not a shy wine, obviously well made and well balanced despite the alcohol. What it lacks though is complexity. The finish is far too short for a wine at this price point. It was best on opening, five hours in the decanter has done this no favours. Drink it up, with Pizza on Wednesdays if required.

2/17/2020 - AJPHopson wrote:

Must have been a bad batch, or the case got left on a hot quayside or some such transit issue. BBR gave me a full refund. Two bottles were just about drinkable but poor, thin and very acidic; the other four were a stage beyond this having a vinegary/rotten fruit aspect.

9/22/2019 - AJPHopson wrote:

This was a good bottle from a great vintage. The wine was quite a deep, solid ruby red in glass and the nose was fresh cherry, a spicy note that I couldn't identify, and smooth menthol. As the evening wore on the menthol became more prominent. On the palate the fruit was a touch more dried than the nose suggested, there was plenty of spice, and that long menthol note. The finish was very long.

7/17/2019 - AJPHopson wrote:

This was dead, unfortunately.

1/19/2019 - AJPHopson Likes this wine:

Through the summer I drank a few bottles and was uniformly unimpressed with their closed and inexpressive nature, especially in contrast to the cheaper 2015 Kabinetts being opened alongside. This bottle was much brighter, with clear fruit and a long finish. With just one piece of evidence it's hard to say whether this was just bottle variation or the 2012 Spatlese starting to open up.

9/16/2018 - AJPHopson Likes this wine:

Clear pale lemon. Nose rather muted, indistinct floral. The palate is dominated by fresh lemon and lime with a touch of buttery-ness on the rather short finish. A bit disappointing, a bottle we had at the start of the summer with friends was much more complex and vibrant.

9/14/2018 - AJPHopson Likes this wine:

Upon opening this wine (and the other two bottles I've opened this summer) it shows strong reductive notes, which take approximately three hours of sitting in the decanter with occasional swirling to dissipate. I don't have a lot of experience with German Pinot Noir, let alone this producer, so cannot say if this is typical. Regardless though, it has reduced the score I gave this wine.

Underneath is a fine wine. Clear Garnet in colour, the nose is sweet cherry. On the palate it is cherry and nectarine, and then wet stones. There's a strong acidity which helps keeps things very fresh and the finish is quite persistent.

8/20/2018 - AJPHopson wrote:

I'm afraid this first bottle I've tried was mildly affected by TCA. Whilst not unpleasant, the wine tastes of little other than peach juice before a rather abrupt finish. The nose was almost completely muted.

5/13/2018 - AJPHopson Likes this wine:

Pale Gold in the glass. Quite expressive initially on the nose, apple and nuts, honey. This was a blockbuster in the glass. Apple and peach at the front, that honey note that was on the nose, and then waves of butter. This was my first Aged mersault and this blew me away, so maybe I’m guilty of overscoring this. After the butter, walnuts. A full 45 seconds of flavour development. This was the second bottle of 6, the first was corked so bear that in mind. This was spectacular.

3/6/2018 - AJPHopson Likes this wine:

Overall very nice, this is a good example of modern Barolo. Medium ruby with a slight bricking on the rim. Clean and powerful nose, you can really smell the roses but not much else. Good acidity and balance. On the palate it’s typical Barolo, with a touch of red fruit, raspberry and red apples. This bottle was drunk over two nights and the last glass was identical to the first, so no rush to drink it but it’s ready now.

2/11/2018 - AJPHopson Likes this wine:

The last bottle from a case of 6, all of which were consumed over the last 2 years. The cork didn’t look in great shape so I used a Durand to open it. Thankfully the wine was in better shape, we managed to save the best til last. A large amount of sediment was left in the bottle but in the glass it was a clear medium garnet.

The nose was clean, blackcurrant, cherry and plums, and on the palate more of the same but with a strong dried fruit element. A little bit of leather on the finish as it softly trailed away. Overall a very good wine past it’s best and on the way down.

9/17/2017 - AJPHopson Likes this wine:

Clear pale lemon in the glass, clean nose of sweet white fruit, a touch floral. We drank this with a pork loin rubbed in grated garlic with Parma ham, oregano and a few chilli flakes. The flavour combination worked very well despite my fears about it being a mismatch. Still the honey and peaches at the front of the palate. It evolved into a sweet vanilla fudge flavour and then on the long finish, as noted by another commentator, a distinct taste of lemon curd!

9/16/2017 - AJPHopson Likes this wine:

I didn't take any notes as this was drunk at a family lunch. Very drinkable, a real crowd pleaser, it went well with roasted pork loin and gratin potatoes. Lovely lime and melon fruit up front, great balance. Didn't have time to appreciate it in enough depth because I was too busy trying to refill my glass. I'm going to buy more as soon as I hit Save and Done.

9/10/2017 - AJPHopson Likes this wine:

Clear medium garnet in the glass, clean medium intensity nose of chocolate and tobacco notes. Dry, high to medium acidity and quite fine tannins. On the palate I found a little red fruit but more of the chocolate that was evident on the nose. Maybe just a touch jammy on the finish. Super smooth texture. Drinking well now.

9/3/2017 - AJPHopson Likes this wine:

I drank most of the bottle at a local restaurant, the balance was drank at home after a night in the fridge. Garnet coloured, with perhaps the smallest loss of colour at the rim. The nose was muted at first but opened up more on the second evening, still a whiff of oak and creme de cassis. On the palate there was a a little cassis and dark cherries, quickly giving way to cedar, leather, tobacco and pencil shavings. The second day was probably better, the wine still holding up well. High quality if perhaps not high excitement.

8/14/2017 - AJPHopson wrote:

Medium Ruby Colour. On the nose there were chocolate and coffee aromas, and on the palate dark cherries and plum. Smoky finish. Not sure if I'm a philistine when it comes to Malbec but there was little complexity, hence the score. Was a good accompaniment to sirloin steak.

5/7/2017 - AJPHopson Likes this wine:

Much as previous notes have said, this wine is still quite backward. Certainly compared to the 2001 at a similar point this still has a lot more development yet to come. There's a snapshot of the fruit but it's overlaid with too much oak at this point. I've moved my drinking dates to 2020-2035. Drinking it on the second day is better than the first!

4/30/2017 - AJPHopson Likes this wine:

Opened my first bottle of a case to check in. Poured into a decanter. On a first brief taste it was very closed up and all I got was the vanilla from the oak. After half an hour in the decanter the wine opened up significantly. Black fruit, cedar, leather. Lovely.

3/4/2017 - AJPHopson Likes this wine:

Took a few minutes in the decanter to open up. Pale honey in the glass, deeper in the decanter. On the nose I got lemon and apples, on the palate more lemon, pear and peach. The oak was evident but not overbearing, smokey vanilla and then honey. As other notes mention, this has a long finish. Nicely balanced, drink now.

1/16/2017 - AJPHopson Likes this wine:

Very impressive. Pale golden honey in the glass, losing its colour at the rim. Very soft, with great peach and nectarine flavours. Drink now, this is at its peak.

1/1/2017 - AJPHopson Likes this wine:

Ruby coloured with a clear rim. The nose was a bit confused immediately after opening but after half an hour gives a strong hint of what lies on the palate. This is a lovely simple wine, full of red fruit flavours. Almost dangerously easy to drink. We had it with Beef Florentine but I think it would pair well with almost anything.

12/26/2016 - AJPHopson Likes this wine:

Pale Gold in colour, somewhat flowery on the nose. A slight touch of oak, but what hit me was the very strong acidity of this wine, it felt slightly unbalanced. On the palate there's plenty to show; I found grapefruit and oranges followed by honey and then nuts.

5/30/2016 - AJPHopson Likes this wine:

As others have noted this is still some way from the finished article. The bottle I drank had four hours in the decanter before the fruit came to the fore, the good news is it was lovely when it did. Dark fruit, pepper, a bit of roasted meat and porcini mushrooms(?). Good structure, still very tannic though. Often gets compared to burgundy, but it was more northern Rhone for me.

2/14/2016 - AJPHopson Likes this wine:

Opened and decanted immediately before serving. Ruby red, but showing it's maturity around the rim. Initially the nose was a bit muted, but after an hour or so it's an earthy, herby, tobacco mix. Similarly on the palate this wine needed 30 mins in the decanter before opening up. Initially quite soft, it had a roasted meat taste, with red fruits, raspberry and then cherry. A touch of spice on the finish.

This is the second bottle I've opened in the last month, and showed better than the first. The first, despite being decanted for longer, didn't open up as well as this one. Like other reviewers I would suggest this needs drinking sooner rather than later.

2/6/2016 - AJPHopson Likes this wine:

What a pleasure to drink! Three hours in the decanter ahead of dinner, served after an older Hermitage that it blew away. It's developed quite a bit since I last tried a bottle about 2.5 years ago. Still plenty of power left, the palate had plenty of juicy dark fruits and a lengthy finish. Nicely balanced.

1/31/2016 - AJPHopson wrote:

2 hour decant. Deep Crimson. Warm juicy fruit, plenty of cassis. Simple but enjoyable.